Daily Devotion for August 6, 2015
Prayers
Scripture
Lord's Prayer
Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come; Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.
For Thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever and ever.
Lincoln Minster School Choir, from the 2012 Senior School Choir Competition (UK)
pilgrim though this barren land;
I am weak, but thou art mighty;
hold me with thy powerful hand;
Bread of heaven,
feed me now and evermore.
Open now the crystal fountain,
whence the healing stream doth flow;
let the fiery cloudy pillar
lead me all my journey through;
strong Deliverer,
be thou still my Strength and Shield.
When I tread the verge of Jordan,
bid my anxious fears subside;
bear me through the swelling current,
land me safe on Canaan's side;
songs of praises,
I will ever give to thee.
Music by John Hughes (1907)
Lyrics by William Williams (1771)
Prayer to Dedicate This Day to God
Holy God, as I face another day, I know I am going to face many challenges: to my faith, to my patience, to my love for others. I am going to have constant temptations to lapse into sin. Come to me now, Lord, and stay with me all day. Let your Spirit encompass my mind. Let me know your presence. Steer my hand, direct my words, guide my thoughts in everything I think and say and do. I resolve to live this day as a beacon of your glory, the best I can, with your help. I commit myself to give this day to you. In the name of Christ, be with me and help me.
Prayer for Mercy
Holy God, Lord most gracious!
Rebuke me not in your anger, nor chasten me in your wrath!
Holy you have called us to come to you.
I feel unworthy, for I have failed you again and again.
I feel like running away, yet you keep calling me.
Have mercy on me and my fellow believers, O God.
Have mercy!
Holy God, Father most gracious!
Rebuke me not in your anger, nor chasten me in your wrath!
Heal me from my sin, for I am troubled.
Deliver me for the sake of your steadfast love.
My sins trouble me, O God.
I am troubled by how they have hurt others.
I am troubled by how they have hurt myself.
Your ways are right! O righteous God!
And whenever I have refused to follow them
I have found out how right they are.
Have mercy on me, O God.
Holy God, God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,
have mercy on me for the sake of your Son,
who died to free us from our sins.
To you be honor and glory!
Parting Prayer
Lord, pour your love into my heart, that I may love you above all things, and my neighbors as myself. Through Christ our Lord.
Think of the day ahead in terms of God with you, and visualize health, strength, guidance, purity, calm confidence, and victory as the gifts of His presence.
Psalm 147:1, 3-6 (NKJV)
Praise the Lord!
For it is good to sing praises to our God;
For it is pleasant, and praise is beautiful.
He heals the brokenhearted
And binds up their wounds.
He counts the number of the stars;
He calls them all by name.
Great is our Lord, and mighty in power;
His understanding is infinite.
The Lord lifts up the humble;
He casts the wicked down to the ground.
Praise the Lord!
Galatians 5:19-21 (Daily Prayer Bible)
19-21, 26 You know perfectly well what I mean when I speak of indulging the “desires of the flesh”: things like sexual immorality, impurity of mind, indecency, worship of false gods, witchcraft, hatred, quarrelling, jealousy, bad temper, rivalry, factionalism, carousing, envy, drunkenness, orgies and things like that. None of us should be ambitious for our own reputation, or seek our own glory, or indulge our vanity; such motives just make us jealous of one another. As I have told you before, those who indulge the desires of the flesh will never inherit God’s kingdom.
American Bible
19 Now, the works of the flesh are well-known, including fornication, impurity, indecent conduct,
20 idolatry, making potions, hostilities, rivalry, jealousy, angry outbursts, selfish ambition, factionalism, dogma,
21 envy, drunkenness, carousing, and similar things, which I warn you about now just as I warned you before: those practicing such acts will not inherit the Kingdom of God.
Notes on the Scripture
The word Paul uses as the third example of indulging fleshly desires is usually translated “promiscuity” or “sensuality” by better translations, but I am convinced they have missed Paul’s meaning. The KJV translates the term lasciviousness, which seems a better term. Paul has already warned against fornication — why would he warn against essentially the same type of activity?
This comes down to some very technical aspects of Greek diction, but the KJV and Daily Prayer agree that Paul is addressing not an act of improper sexual congress, but an outward behavior in one’s speech, dress, etc., that other people would take as a sign approving immorality — talking and acting like an immoral person. In short, what we would call indecency. Examples would be a woman wearing overtly “sexy” clothes, a man leering or making sexual remarks to a woman, using profanity, telling dirty jokes, and that sort of thing.
This would be close to the KJV’s “lasciviousness”: There are several slightly different definitions of “lasciviousness”, but looking at the synonyms given in Merriam-Webster is instructive: “bawdy, blue, coarse, crude, dirty, filthy, foul, gross, gutter, impure, indecent, obscene, lewd, locker-room, nasty, pornographic, porny, profane, raunchy, ribald, smutty, stag, trashy, unprintable, vulgar, wanton, X-rated.”
It often annoys me that people think “being nice” is the primary mark of Christianity; they will turn red if they hear the “f” word, and yet, do not think twice about stretching their budget to buy a luxury car while giving a pittance to the poor, stirring up hate and war, cursing and judging their fellow Christians, and being prideful and self-promoting to the point of pompousness. Still, though, they have a point. Paul here calls indecency a sin of the flesh. There is, indeed, a Biblical basis for acting a bit like a goody two-shoes.
